Hard to Love
by morganlynseyy
Summary: Takes place after episode 4-12 'Still' There's something so tragic yet so endearing that Beth and Daryl might be the last people alive on earth. Truth be told they need each other to survive, but is that the only thing they need from each other. Rated M for various reasons.
1. Starting over

**A/N Hello so this is just a short sampler chapter to get a feel for the story. This takes place a while after episode 4-12 'Still' so before the funeral home and all that never happened. Hope you enjoy. (:**

They had cleared the cabin earlier that day; it was now dusk and the temperature had begun to drop. Daryl had just got back with some fire wood, Beth was grateful the cabin had a wood stove.

"I found some peaches, and peanut butter." Beth exclaimed looking over to Daryl who was building the fire.

Daryl being Daryl just grunted, and continued what he was doing.

"Huh." Beth just sighed things were better between them now, but sometimes she wished he would have actual conversation with her instead of grunting all the time like a caveman.

He grabbed his pack and pulled out a yellow crinkly bag and opened it and began eating.

"Oh my god, are those?" Beth was in awe.

"Uh huh." Daryl flashed a small grin and continued eating.

"You have to share!" Beth said dumbfounded. "Where did you find- I want some please Daryl!?"

There Daryl was eating a bag of potato chips. He ate them slowly as if he was torturing her. Beth hadn't realized how much she had missed processed food until now, and she was gonna be pissed if Daryl didn't give her any.

'Daryl?' She asked again getting up out her chair and walking toward him, while he was leaning on the kitchen counter eating the chips. He still hadn't answered her and she was terrified he was going to eat all of them, sure peaches and peanut butter was fine, but he had potato chips!

There she was practically drooling watching Daryl eat them. He found it amusing, of course he was gonna share with her but she didn't know that. He had found them upstairs while clearing the cabin earlier, they hadn't even expired yet.

"Daryl!?" Beth begged, she looked like she was about to hit him.

"Yeah, m'kay fine." He grunted handing her the bag.

She was cute when she was angry. He thought to himself. Wait? What? Since when did he think of Beth like that, I mean he admired her and thought that she was good person and she helped him through some bullshit after the prison but _cute_? He shook the thoughts from his mind and continued to watch Beth scarf down the rest of the chips.

Daryl chuckled which was unusual but, he had never seen Beth eat like this she was literally taking four chips at a time and shoving them into her mouth, it wasn't like her she usually pecked at her food like a bird even if they hadn't eaten in a while, it was just her nature.

She looked up at him mid chew and smiled, had Daryl Dixon just laughed? She couldn't help herself she knew Daryl had never seen this side of her but, she didn't even care this was literally the best thing she had ever tasted. He was looking at her with his brows raised and mouth slightly open. She laughed at his expression. She finished off the chips and hoped that Daryl hadn't wanted anymore, because well it was too late now.

Later that night Daryl had went around the fence line and made sure that it was secure, it was only a wooden post fence that was about 5 foot tall, it wouldn't keep the walkers out for sure but it might slow them down a bit. Daryl thought to himself, he had also planned out an escape route in case they needed to get out fast.

Beth was lighting some candles upstairs near "her bed" for the night. The cabin had a small kitchen, one bathroom, a larger bed downstairs, and a twin bed upstairs in the loft. She had volunteered to take the twin sized bed being she was quite a bit smaller than Daryl and thought he'd be more comfortable in the larger one. Beth was just lighting the last candle when all of a sudden she heard a pop and what sounded like an engine? She popped up and ran down stairs to find Daryl turning on a lamp.

"Oh my god power?" Beth was pleasantly surprised.

"Yea found a generator hooked up out back, and there's quite a bit of gas in the shed. This place is a damn gold mine. We should keep tha lights low though. Ya know walkers aint the only threat out there." Daryl spouted.

"But ya know wha power means Greene?" Daryl said.

"What?" she asked.

"Warm showers." Daryl flashed a toothy grin.

Beth dropped her mouth open, and then smiled from ear to ear; she ran over and hugged Daryl. Beth felt him tense at her touch but she was so happy she didn't care. She knew Daryl didn't like physical contact with most people, she wondered why but knew better than to open that can of worms. Daryl had briefly opened up to her, but on his terms, and she knew if she asked him he'd shut her down. Beth pulled away still smiling at Daryl who looked slightly out of his element.

"You go ahead and shower first?" said Beth.

"Nah ladies first…" Daryl grunted nodding his head towards the bathroom. "Just don't use all the damn hot water. The water heater tank sucks quite a bit a juice."

"No I wasn't asking… Daryl no offense but you smell like a dead animal or I guess dead people for that matter?" Beth joked. He was covered in walker blood and guts and layered in dirt. She didn't look so hot either, her hair was tangled and her skin was greasy and muddy, but she wasn't near as dirty as Daryl.

Daryl just snorted then retreated to the bathroom he looked in the mirror and smelled himself. She was right, poor Beth he thought to himself he really did smell like road kill, looked like it too. Not that he really had any other choice. He showered fairly quickly leaving enough hot water for Beth. He threw on some clean clothes Beth had found upstairs, a pair of blue jeans a black t-shirt and a dark green flannel they were a bit small, but they'd have to do.

Beth was patiently waiting her turn, and as soon as Daryl came out she grabbed her set of clean clothes and headed to the shower, she had grabbed some sweats and a small tank top to sleep in, usually they slept in their clothes in case the shit hit the fan and they had to get out fast, but this was the safest they'd been since the prison so she would take her chances and actually be comfortable for once. Daryl went and plopped himself on the bed, it was like laying on a cloud he'd be okay with never getting up again. He thought to himself then let himself drift off into a deep slumber.

Beth ran the water and stepped in the shower feeling the water radiate her body from the outside in, giving her the chills, not that she was cold it just felt that incredible. All there was, was a bar of soap but it was certainly better than no soap at all… She bathed herself and stayed in until the water ran cold.

Stepping out Beth dried off and braided her wet hair to the side, and put her pajamas on. She exited the bathroom then quietly made her way to make sure all the doors were locked noticing that Daryl had fallen asleep, he looked clean and content ,she had watched Daryl sleep before but this time he was just so peaceful. He lightly snored letting Beth know that we was out for the night. Before he would just kind of lay and doze off for a while then wake up to make sure that she was okay and still keeping watch. She was looking forward to that too…actually getting to _sleep. _Not worrying about a walker taking a bite out of you.

She had known that Daryl had already nailed the place up tight before his shower, she just wanted to check, force of habit she guessed. She could never truly feel secure she didn't think, not after the prison.

Beth bit her lip, whenever she thought about the prison she thought about their lost home, Maggie, Judith…her Dad? Choking her feelings down Beth tip-toed up the stairs trying her best to not disturb Daryl, he deserved to rest. He had been protecting her non-stop, teaching her new skills on how to fend for herself, but he still watched her constantly, provided for her and had her back. They had been through a lot together these last few weeks.

**A/N So tell me what you guys think I love reviews, I like to know if I should continue or not, I know that season 5 has already started and things have changed a lot but I just wanted to explore my own ideas on what happened after they got separated from the rest.(; SO please review !**


	2. Settled

**A/N Oh my gosh, you guys are all so amazing. I am overwhelmed by the amount of follows, favs, and reviews already! I'm so glad you guy are enjoying it, so hopefully this chapter does not disappoint. (:**

Daylight shot through the crack of the curtains bringing yellow streaks of light throughout the loft, Beth missed this… it made her feel like the world wasn't so terrible after all, as if there weren't re-animated corpses roaming the earth. Waking up in a warm bed, feeling all shiny and new from her shower the night before. She felt…_okay. _

Daryl heard Beth stir from above; he was frying up some squirrel over the stove. He had snuck out earlier that morning to do some hunting, he thought about waking up Beth but when he went upstairs to check on her, her face was buried into the pillow and she looked so comfortable, he thought he'd let her sleep in.

"Mornin." Beth said groggily coming down the stairs. She was still dressed in her sweats and tank from last night.

_Lord have mercy_…. Daryl thought to himself, she didn't have a bra on and even though the tank top was black it was hugging her in every sinful way possible.

"Uhm how did ya sleep?" He managed to say.

"Great!" Beth smiled at him. "You?" she asked.

"Uh yea real good." Daryl grumbled averting his eyes away from Beth and back to the squirrel he was cooking.

Daryl was acting weird Beth thought to herself, and then she realized she was still in the small tank top and sweats that showed off a lot more than she had in intended to. That's why Daryl had been looking her up and down when she was coming down the stairs… she blushed at the thought.

Had Daryl been checking her out? No way, she thought to herself; I mean there was no way a man like Daryl was interested in her. Things started forming in her head about Daryl that she'd never thought about before. When all of a sudden Daryl's voice sprang her back into reality.

"BETH? Ya want some squirrel or not?" Daryl barked at her gruffly. _There was the Daryl she knew._

"Uh what?" Beth looked to Daryl who was staring at her brows raised.

"Did ya want some?" Daryl asked, pointing to some the fried rodent meat in the pan. "Asked ya about three damn times." Daryl mumbled.

"Oh. Sorry." Beth apologized. "But no thanks I'll just have some peaches."

Beth really didn't like squirrel it tasted gamey, and if she had another choice of food she would definitely take it. Daryl just nodded grabbing a piece of meat and tossing it into his mouth. "Can I use your knife real quick?" Beth asked walking towards Daryl, hers was still upstairs. He tried not to look at her. It was making Beth laugh that he was afraid to look at her like he would violate her with his eyes or something. She was past modesty pretty much, I mean for god's sake she's had to pee three feet away before in the middle of the woods. She didn't understand why he was being so weird about it. He pulled his knife out and handed to Beth. "Thanks." Beth walked over and opened the can of peaches.

After she had finished eating Beth went upstairs to get dressed she put some light wash blue jeans and a grey tank top, it was bigger and covered more than the tight black one she had slept in and wore a bra of course. Once she was dressed she went back downstairs and walked over to the pile of dirty clothes next to the bed.

"What're you doin?" Daryl asked who was sitting at the kitchen table cleaning some of his bolts.

"Gonna do some of your laundry if that's okay?" She looked to him waiting for his response.

"Ya don't have to if ya don't wanna."

"No its fine, it's kinda what I'm use to doin." Beth said picking up the filthy clothes that were covered in walker blood. At the prison that's what she did… laundry, cooked food, and took care of Judith. She was basically a housewife of the apocalypse.

"M'kay. Uh thanks."

"Mhm. No problem." Beth replied. With that she took the clothes outside to a trough that was on the side of the cabin. Whoever use to live here must of had some type of livestock, or it was used for the same purpose she was going to use it for. It didn't have any water in it she would have to haul some over from the well. When all of a sudden she heard the twigs snapping behind her, instinctively she grabbed her knife out and swung around.

"Easy there Green s'just me." Daryl said standing there was his cross bow in hand. She swore that thing had grown ligaments and attached itself to him. Although she was relieved it was just Daryl, she also grumbled under her breath. She couldn't go ten feet from him without him saying she needed to stay closer to him. He was over protective but in a way she admired that, no man except for her Daddy or brother Shawn had ever been that protective over her. Not Jimmy or Zach. But they were just boys. Daryl was a man. Beth smiled at the thought of that…. she had a man. Wait a second? _She_ had a man? Since when was Daryl hers? There were those thoughts again. Trying to ignore her stupid brain she continued to fill up buckets of water and carrying them over to the trough, Daryl had offered to help her but she wanted to do it herself. Everyone was always treating Beth like she was so fragile like if they said the wrong thing or let her do too much she would break. She was sick of it; she was 19 now, a grown woman and could handle herself just fine.

Later that day Beth had continued rummaging through the cabin to see if she could find anything useful, she had found some more canned goods stuffed way back on a shelf in the pantry. That was about it downstairs, but upstairs was a different story. Tucked between the mattress she found an almost full bottle of whiskey, she had remembered the last time her and Daryl drank, that was mess, but it also got them to open up to each other… maybe they could do that again she wondered? She had already went through the closet the day before and found plenty of men's clothing but not many women's clothes but when she went through a trunk she found underneath the bed she found tons more of women's clothing. Beth was excited, it was about as close as to going shopping like before the turn and it made her happy. If they ended up staying there for a little while she might have the chance to wear some more of them. She blushed when she saw a pair of lace underwear in the drawer, her momma would never let her buy this kind, she always said they're more for showing off, and she didn't have anybody that she needed to be showing off to. Beth put them back in the drawer sighing. She still didn't have anybody to show anything off to. She wondered if she ever would…

She heard Daryl come in side and she decided to go down stairs and see what he was up to. When she got down he was sitting on the bed just looking at her.

"Look what I found!" Beth said teasingly showing the whiskey to Daryl as she walked over and then placed it on the kitchen table.

"Are ya an alcoholic now?" Daryl grumbled at her while leaning back on the bed putting his hands behind his head to slightly prop himself up.

"No." Beth spat back glaring at Daryl. She knew he was referring to the moonshine they had shared at the trashed trailer they'd been at before.

Daryl chuckled lightly and sat back up. He liked to tease her. She was cute, when she was mad. There's that word again…_cute._ He fiddled with his hands and just sat and watched her as she re-tied her ponytail. Daryl didn't even realize he was staring it's just something he started to do. He liked watching Beth not in a creepy stalker way but in an admiring way. She wasn't like anybody else he had ever met before. She was kind, caring, and compassionate, yet she was bold and filled with fire. When had he started to have feelings for Beth? Did he have feelings for her? No. Shut yourself down Dixon she's a god damned teenager... and you're an old washed up, no good, redneck asshole. She'd puke at the thought of you were even thinking about her at all.

"Hey Daryl? How long do ya think we'll be here?"

"Uh dunno, as long as it's safe? As long as we want I guess."

"Okay." She smiled.

"Ya like it here?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah I mean there's hot water, power, and a bed to sleep in how could I not. Why you don't?" she looked to him innocently.

"Just nah much ta do is all. But yea besides that it's good."

"Well I found some cards up stairs? You wanna play?"

There was a brief silence between the two then Daryl willingly agreed to play cards with Beth. After a few games of Daryl winning Beth was getting frustrated and bored, she decided she was going to go and get Daryl's clothes that had been out on the porch to dry. It was a good thing went and got them when she did because it looked like a storm was rolling in. Daryl noticing the storm too decided they should stay in for the night and lock up shop. Daryl and she had agreed to only run the generator when they needed showers being there was only so much gas and they had a wood stove so it's not like they would freeze. It had to of been late fall heading into winter because Beth noticed that it seemed to keep getting cooler out day by day. This made her appreciate the cabin all the more.

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"Daryl?"

It was cold and dark, too dark to see, but she swore if she could of she would have been able to see her breath.

"Daryl!?" Beth called out in a loud whisper her hands in front of her trying to find her surroundings.

Still nothing, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop…. When all of a sudden Beth felt an ice cold hand on her arm she pulled away trying get free of the grasp went she heard the moan and teeth chomping.

"Oh god please!" Beth cried out trying to fight off was she assumed was a walker. When the lights came on she didn't recognize where she was… her eyes adjusting to the light still trying to free herself. But when she saw it all she could was freeze, her eyes welling with salt water.

"NO!" Beth shrieked then began sobbing trying to squirm free not wanting to see what was in front of her. There before her was Hershel…. skin rotting, teeth gnashing. Her daddy back from the dead trying to take a bite from her… This can't be possible, what the hell was going on!? But it was too late as she felt him sink his decayed teeth into the tender flesh of her thigh, a sea of crimson beneath her.

It was too late.

**A/N Sorry to leave ya hanging like that.(: But no worries Ill be updating soon, I already have the next chapter written. Review let me know what you think, Im always open to suggestions. Until next time Bethylers.**


	3. Together

**A/N Oh my gosh you guys are the seriously! All of you have responded so immensely to the last two chapters, thank you all so much! Your support means everything, and made me want to continue with the story. Just reminders that this story will be a slow burn at first so don't be too disappointed if they don't take each other right away. Love is patient my little Bethylers.(; Enjoy. **

"BETH! BETH! WAKE UP!"

….

Beth flew up gasping for air, tears running from her eyes, and shaking.

"Beth! You're okay. Ya was just dreaming." Daryl said standing at her bedside not knowing what to as her body continued to wrack with sobs.

"It's okay! Yer okay!"

It wasn't helping, she continued to cry. Daryl hesitantly made his way and sat down next to Beth and placed his hand on her back trying to let her know she was awake and that she was safe now. But she just cried louder. What was he supposed to do? He thought to himself. He sucked at this kinda shit? But he couldn't just leave her like this.

"Beth yer okay now. It's Daryl." He continued to keep his hand on her back letting her know he was still right there.

Beth looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down her cheeks. It took Daryl by surprise when she threw herself into his chest and began sobbing again, letting out shuddered breaths. Gripping his shirt and turning her knuckles white.

"Ya wanna talk bout it?" Daryl hesitantly asked not wanting to overstep and make her cry even more. But girls liked that kinda thing right? He thought to himself. Talkin about feelin's an shit? Beth sniffled then tried to speak but nothing came out. All she wanted was to be held she couldn't talk about it right now, not yet. Beth pressed herself into Daryl tighter hoping he'd wrap his arms around her and rock her back to sleep. But she knew better, he wasn't the type, she was surprised he was even doing this.

"Its fine if ya don't wanna yet." He said quietly.

Beth nodded and pulled away and looked at him her sobs now quieting down. For not being a person to usually comfort others he was actually pretty good at it. His shirt was soaked in her snot and tears.

"M'sorry." Beth managed to say looking at his shirt, her voice cracking. It hurt to speak.

"S'okay." He looked to his top then back to Beth. He really didn't mind he'd had much worse on him before.

They both sat in silence for a little bit, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Daryl finally got up from the bed and went downstairs. Beth had quit crying and had pretty much calmed down. But now she was by herself and it made her want to cry again. She wished Daryl would have stayed up there with her. He'd done more than she had expected him to and she was grateful but still. She jumped when the thunder cracked and felt like it had shook the entire cabin, a flash of white light brightening the room. She couldn't do this… Beth slowly crawled out of bed and made her way down the stairs over to Daryl who was now lying back down.

"Daryl?" Beth said so quietly she wasn't even sure if he had heard her.

Daryl turned over to look at her. She stood with her arms insecurely over her chest looking at him waiting for a response, but he just looked at her.

"Can I stay down here with you?" She hesitated a bit but she didn't want to be alone right now.

"Mhhm." Daryl just mumbled nodding to the bed while sitting up. "I'll sleep on the floor right here."

"Can you just lay here with me? Until… I fall asleep at least." Beth looked to him her eyes heavy and glazed.

Daryl felt a lump in his throat… Beth wanted him to lay there with her? She must have had a really horrible nightmare to want to have him be in the same bed as her. He hesitated then nodded and lied back down. He chose not to speak; it was never his strong suit. Grunting and nodding was just less complicated for him.

She crawled in the covers and made herself comfortable, she lied on her side facing Daryl and scooted closer to him, feeling the heat radiate from his body. It made her feel safe… like she wasn't so alone. Daryl shifted in the bed, and at the same time another loud clap of thunder shook the cabin making her jump again causing Daryl to look her.

"Ya Okay?" "Ya want me to get off the bed?" Daryl panicked hoping that Beth had only jumped from the thunder and didn't want him to get off the bed, even though this was weird and new to him, he kind of liked lying next to someone. Not that he would ever admit it.

"No. Stay." Beth said quietly trying not to sound to desperate.

She was only a few inches from Daryl, she wanted to be closer but she knew he would become too uncomfortable and move to the floor. Beth couldn't tell what these feeling were? If she was just needy from her nightmare and wanted someone to comfort her, but in that moment she didn't want to be lying next to anybody else…she just wanted Daryl. These last few weeks Beth had realized she had become to like being around Daryl, even though he could be reserved and well… an ass sometimes, she knew he cared, which was a lot these days.

Daryl laid awake until he felt Beth's breathing become slow deep breaths letting him know she had fallen asleep. The thunder and lightning had dissipated, it was still raining, but the moon was now peeking through the dark clouds, bringing a glow to Beth's creamy white skin. She looked so beautiful, and so young, full of innocence … Daryl wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go; he wanted to protect her from the world.

'What the hell am I doing…Daryl Dixon doesn't want to warp anybody up in his arms? This is Hershel's daughter, this is Beth.' He pushed the thoughts from his mind and with that he found sleep again.

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Beth awoke in the morning to an empty bed, an empty cabin actually. She started to panic, but then reminded herself that Daryl would never just leave her behind like that. At first it was a reoccurring thought, that in the middle of the night he would just disappear and leave her since she was so incapable. That's what Beth felt like…a burden. Then Daryl had showed her how to use the crossbow slightly, it was way too heavy for her though. She couldn't even pull the drawstring back, Daryl always had to. He had started to teach her other skills though like tracking, and how to hunt even if she couldn't use the crossbow very effectively, she knew how to use a gun if she had to and a knife of course. After the initial panic of him leaving her was gone, she then worried about Daryl being out there alone. Beth knew he was fully capable of handling himself, but when you're alone _a lot_ could go wrong. Beth recalled the incident back at the farm, when Daryl had went looking for Sophia and got bucked by Nelly their horse. But he would be fine, he always is. Beth thought to herself. He's Daryl, he just has to be.

Beth decided to make breakfast, judging from the light it was still early morning. Well I don't know if you'd call it breakfast, cans of peaches and mandarin oranges, and some peanut butter. 'Breakfast of the champions.' She thought to herself. There was enough food to last a couple more weeks probably, especially if Daryl hunted. Beth didn't know what they would do when they ran out; they'd probably have to move on. There wasn't a town for at least 10-15 miles, and who knows if they'd even find anything salvageable there. Beth sighed as she used her knife to pry open the can of peaches.

Daryl came in through the door causing Beth to jump; she was still a little on edge she guessed from last night. She felt embarrassed for being such a wimp last night, and asking to get in bed with Daryl, like she was a five year old. Daryl probably thought she was being ridiculous.

"Hey." He said gruffly as he grabbed the skillet to fry up his rabbit meat.

"Mornin." Beth replied quietly as she stilled tried to open the can of peaches, her knife was small and it took forever to try and get the can pried open.

Daryl saw her struggling and walked over to her and pulled his large hunting knife out of its sheath.

"Here, won't take so damn long." He said setting the knife down on the table in front of them, then walked back over to the wood stove to finish cooking his meat.

"Thanks." Beth said taking the knife and finally opening the can of peaches. 

They ate in silence; there was slight tension in the air. Neither one of them had mentioned anything about last night or really said _anything_ for that matter. Beth thought that maybe it was better that way; they could just forget it happened, but she couldn't forget the image of her father biting down on her leg and the sea of blood beneath her. It sent chills down her spine and made her feel nauseous. Daryl looked at her, sensing her sudden change in demeanor.

"Ya okay?" He asked then quickly added. "I mean ya seemed pretty upset last night, just makin sure yer alright…"

Beth looked at him momentarily then back to her almost empty can of peaches.

"Yeah, just a nightmare was all." Beth lied, she wasn't alright.

Daryl looked at her then back to his food, nodding his head slightly. Daryl had been sitting on the bed, he got up and walked towards Beth sitting at the table, he handed her his left over rabbit.

"Eat this. Ya need some protein, get some meat on yer bones." He said taking the peaches from her and shoving the rabbit closer to her.

"I do have meat on my bones…" Beth said looking down on herself, inspecting her own body. She then frowned; she had gotten way skinnier since the fall of the prison.

"Barely." Daryl said grabbing her arm and was able to wrap his fingers completely around her forearm.

Beth froze and looked at his hand causing Daryl to quickly pull away and walk back over to the bed. It left a tingling, burning sensation on Beth's arm after he released. Beth didn't understand what that meant, but she had never felt that before with anyone. The rest of the day they did chores Beth cleaned the cabin up a bit, but it hadn't taken long, she had also done some more laundry that she hadn't been able to finish the day before. It was a little more difficult to get the stench of walker guts out with no soap, they did have the bar of soap but she wanted to save that for their showers. Daryl had been in and out; he had been trying to fortify the fence a little bit better and had hung up some 'walker alarms' which were made out of various items so they made noise when something bumped into them. Beth had been out on the front porch hanging more clothes when she heard Daryl yell out from around the corner.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl spat.

**A/N Oooo another cliff hanger, sorry hehe. So hope you enjoyed this chapter and Happy Halloween! Eats lots of candy, or get drunk. Or both lol. I am going to try and update before twd comes on Sunday! Omg you guys Beth is back, I really hope she survives this season because I love her so much…and I want a Bethyl reunion! Okay make sure you review, I love hearing from you guys! xx.**


	4. Doctor

**A/N So I said I'd update before Sunday and I kept my promise. Yay! So hopefully you enjoy this chapter, once again I like to thank everybody that reviews, favs, and follows. (: This picks up right where the last chapter left off.**

"Son of a bitch!"

Beth ran off the porch around the corner to see what was going on.

"Daryl! Daryl?" Beth called out.

Beth came around the corner to where Daryl was to find him wincing in pain holding his arm, as she got closer she noticed the blood.

"What happened!?" Beth asked hurrying to him to help him.

"Fuckin sheet metal is what happened!" He spat out.

Beth noticed the sharp edge of the sheet metal Daryl had cut himself on, it looked like he was trying to fill some of the larger gaps in the fence with it.

"Daryl come on, if we don't clean that up soon, you could get an infection." Beth said grabbing his crossbow for him and practically pushing him inside the cabin.

It was bleeding pretty badly; Daryl had blood dripping down his arm, and some on his shirt. Beth remembered seeing a first aid kit in the bathroom under the sink. She had Daryl sit at the table as she went and got it, it had a few rolls of gauze, a few band aids, and a few packets of expired aspirin. '_Damn it.' _Beth thought to herself, what she really needed was peroxide or alcohol or something. Then she remembered the bottle of whiskey. She gathered the stuff and the grabbed the whiskey from the shelf, setting it all on the table.

"Let me look." Beth said gesturing to Daryl cut.

"I can do it ma self." He grunted letting go of his arm and trying to wipe some of the blood off with his bandana.

"Daryl…" Beth said with force grabbing him and pulling him toward the sink.

She took the bottle of whiskey and opened it up having Daryl hold his arm over the sink.

"This is gonna hurt." She said softly, and then dumped some of the whiskey over the wound. Daryl hissed and flinched, shutting his eyes. Beth knew it must have hurt badly, but he was just down playing the pain. The cut was deep once Beth got a clearer look at it; she realized it was going to need stitches. Thankfully she had found a small sewing kit upstairs, she ran and got it telling Daryl to continue to apply pressure so the bleeding would slow. Beth came back with the sewing kit.

"You need stitches." She said sitting down next to Daryl. He gave her a puzzled look.

"You aint no damn doctor, ya even know how?" He asked gruffly.

"No I'm not, but you're welcome to call one if you'd like." Beth sassed back.

He chuckled lightly at her response, which caused her to grin. She liked that she had made him smile, he needed more of that. Daryl took a large swig of whiskey and sighed, as Beth prepared the needle and thread.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Just get on with it will ya." Daryl grumbled. Beth smiled at him again; he was always so grumpy it was actually kind of funny. Beth started to pierce the needle through his skin, causing Daryl to winced in pain again and shift in his chair.

"Daryl I know it hurts but the more move the worse it's gonna be." Beth said softly, she knew it had to be painful with nothing to numb it, Beth had never stitched anyone up before but she had watched her father enough times to know how. Daryl just grumbled at her in response, while grabbing the whiskey and drinking some more. After Daryl downing quite a bit of the whiskey he started to relax more, you could tell he was trying to pretend it didn't hurt though. Beth finished stitching him up. She started to clean up around the wound, using as light as touch as she could, Daryl watched her intently as she cleaned and dressed the stitched skin. Daryl couldn't tell if it was a side effect from the alcohol he had been consumed but every touch from Beth made him feel lightheaded, and made his stomach do somersaults. Whatever was going on Beth felt it too, the way Daryl was watching her so carefully, it felt like he was beaming into her soul, reading her every thought. She felt so vulnerable, but the thing was she didn't even care because she knew he felt whatever it was too. Suddenly they were snapped back into reality by the sound of the walker alarm going off by the fence.

"I'll check." Beth said standing up.

"Nah you aint, I got it." Daryl's said jumping up and trying to beat stop Beth, but he stumbled a bit.

Beth let out a small giggle. "Daryl sit. I'll just go check if I can't handle it I'll call out for you, I'm fine."

Beth grabbed her knife and walked to the window to look out and see, but of course Daryl didn't listen to her and followed her anyway. It was just one walker out by the fence.

"I got it." Beth said opening the door as Daryl tried to grab his crossbow.

"Daryl! I can handle it; you have to trust me…" Beth said looking to him with her brows raised.

He looked at her than set his crossbow down and nodded being careful not to rip his new stitches. Beth went out and killed the walker with ease, as she walked back to the cabin Daryl was standing on the porch.

"See, everything's fine." Beth said mockingly.

"Mhhm. I know Greene." He gave her an approving nod.

They both came inside and ate something, Daryl had drunk more whiskey and Beth had told him to go lie down and rest. It was a fight at first but as soon as she got him to lie down he was out. It was nice to have real beds; it did feel strange sometimes though. They were so use to having jobs to do and constantly keeping watch, and going on runs, but here it felt like they could recuperate, get there footing back. Beth wanted to let Daryl sleep, so she decided to go upstairs and find something to do. She still had a few pages left in her journal, it took her forever to find a pencil but she eventually did. Beth had thought about what she would have done after high school, if the turn had never happened. She probably would have become a singer, and moved to the city to study songwriting and music. Songwriting was always there for her when no one else was, she put all her emotion into it, it was just sad that no one would ever get to hear any of it. She sat there for hours writing, not just lyrics but some of her thoughts too, she hadn't written in it since the prison, so she had a lot to get out and a lot on her mind. She even wrote about Daryl, she didn't really understand what going on between her and Daryl but she knew there was _something_. Beth had been thinking about him romantically even, what if he was the last guy on earth…she might actually be okay with that. 'I mean he's pretty cute in a rough way, and I know he cares and can be kind, he's just damaged. But that's okay because we all have baggage especially these days. I mean I'm not insane for thinking about him that way right?' Beth wondered. But the creaky floorboards snapped her out of her thoughts. Beth turned around to find Daryl at the top of the staircase watching her slightly startling her. He shifted from one foot to another after she turned to look at him.

"You scared me." Beth said airily, while shutting her journal and setting it on the nightstand.

"M'sorry didn't mean ta." He said quietly.

"It's okay. How long have you been up?"

"A while…just came ta see what ya were doing up here." He replied.

"Oh. I didn't know you were up. I've just been writing, thought I'd let you rest."

"Ya didn't have ta, I'm fine." He mumbled.

"Yeah I did, Daryl you deserve to rest. You don't give yourself enough credit. You do a lot." Beth said matter of factly. Daryl just shrugged in response and started to walk towards Beth who was sitting on the bed. He sat down on the end of the bed. Beth watched him closely, he was acting different, and he never just willingly came and talked to her like this.

"How's your arm feel?" Beth asked.

Daryl looked down to his arm then back to Beth. "Not bad, I had a good doctor…" He said grinning.

It caused Beth to giggle, and then smiled to him. Daryl like it when Beth smiled and she had this giggle that could make anyone happy just by hearing it. It was hard for Daryl to understand what he was feeling for Beth, but he knew he liked being with her, and he had never had that before. It was starting to get dark so Daryl thought he should go lock up.

"Imma go shut the place up for tha night."

"I can do it." Beth offered.

"Greene, I'm not that incapable."

"Yeah I know, but you always do everything." Beth argued.

He chuckled. "Fine you go do it then!"

Beth headed down stairs; Daryl sat there for a moment looking around the loft of the cabin. Beth had cleaned it up nice. He got up deciding to head downstairs and heard Beth screamed. He then started bolting downstairs.

"Beth! What's wrong?" He called out. He got to the bottom of the stairs to find Beth on top of the kitchen counter.

"What tha hell are ya doin!?" Daryl barked. She had scared the shit out of him.

"Daryl ther- there's a rat!" She said pointing in the corner of the kitchen. Daryl stood there in disbelief that she had made such a huge deal about a rat, they had been sleeping in the woods for weeks…

"Beth yer screaming about some damn rat, I thought you were dying down here!" Daryl sighed as he walked into the kitchen over to Beth.

"Come on, get off the counter." He said putting his hand out to her.

"No! Not until you get rid of it!" She was shaking.

"Seriously…" Daryl asked.

"Daryl, please!?" Beth begged.

Daryl went over into the corner to look and it wasn't even a rat…. it was a tiny mouse. He took out his bandana that thankfully Beth had washed all the blood out of for him earlier. He scooped up the mouse and took it outside, there was no reason to kill it, it wasn't hurting anyone. He came back inside and Beth was still on the counter top.

"Is it gone?" She asked. Daryl found it as the perfect opportunity to screw with her; he held the bandana in his hand like he still had it and walked over to Beth.

"You shouldn't be scared he's a nice little fella." Daryl said then tossed the bandana at Beth.

She shrieked all while flailing her arms around. Daryl was laughing, he couldn't believe she could kill walkers but was terrified of a little rodent.

"You asshole!" Beth said jumping from the counter and punching Daryl in the arm.

He was still laughing. "Such an ugly word coming from such a pretty mouth."

Beth started to blush, and then walked towards the bed downstairs taking a seat. Daryl noticed that. 'Had Beth just blushed because of him?'

"That was mean." She said as she frowned.

"M'sorry I couldn't help it." He grinned.

"I hate mice…" She said tucking her legs into her chest and resting her head on her knees.

"I can see that." Daryl said sitting down at the dining room table still smiling.

Thy held each other's gaze for a while, it was weird like they were in a battle to see who would look away first. Daryl lost; he moved his gaze and stood up not knowing what to do with himself.

"Oh yeah I forgot I found some books upstairs, I'll go grab them." Beth said as she stood up and ran upstairs. She came back down with a huge stack of books in her arms.

"A few?" Daryl asked.

"Uh yeah, I guess there more than a few." She went over and sat them on the table, and shuffled through them until she found a romance novel she wanted to read. 'Typical girl.' Daryl thought to himself. Beth went over and plopped down on the bed and started reading. Daryl was never much of a reader, but it's not like there was anything else to do. He sat at the dining table since Beth took over the bed, he didn't mind though. Beth read for a while then said she was heading to bed. After Beth had headed up stairs Daryl went and laid in bed, but since he had slept earlier he wasn't even tired. He decided to get up and clean his bolts, then he read some more, he even carved his initials into the bed frame. He was so bored, he could go outside and do something, but it was late and he didn't want to leave Beth alone, plus she'd probably rip his head off if he left because of his arm she had stitched up, he would most likely end up ripping them. He tossed and turned in bed thinking. All of a sudden he heard her screaming…_loud._ Every walker within miles could probably hear her. Daryl ran upstairs to find Beth tossing and turning, crying and yelping. She must be dreaming again. Daryl went over by the side of the bed grabbing Beth trying to gently shake her awake.

"Beth, yer dreamin! Beth it's okay." He said shaking her shoulders trying to pull her out of her slumber.

Her eyes popped open, she let out heavy shuddered breaths, her hair was matted to her forehead with sweat. She grabbed onto Daryl tightly try to push him off of her, until she realized it was him.

"Hey yer okay, you were havin another nightmare…" Daryl said softly crouching down so he was more level with her.

Beth was crying, but not the loud kind…. the silent kind, the kind you can't stop because the tears just keep rolling out of your eyes.

"It was Maggie this time; she was trying to attack me Daryl. She was a walker." Beth mumbled trying to wipe the tears that were streaming down her face.

"This time?" Daryl asked.

Beth nodded slowly. "Last time it was my Dad."

"No one can hurt ya here Beth, not while I'm around, I won't let em." Daryl said. Beth sniffled and nodded again giving him a weak smile.

"Do you really think everyone dead?" She asked quietly.

Daryl hesitated, he honestly didn't know if anyone was alive or not, but Beth had told him he needed to have hope, who was he to deny her of her own.

"I really don't know Beth, but we can look for them if you want."

Beth looked at him and her facial expression instantly changed. "Really?"

Daryl nodded and gave her a small smile. He hated to see Beth so torn up, and if looking for the rest of the group whether they were all dead or alive, it was something he'd be willing to do if it would help Beth. In all honesty he wanted to look for them too, they were the closest thing he's ever had to a family. It was quiet for a few moments.

"Will you stay up here with me?" Beth finally asked.

"Mhm." Daryl sat down and leaned his back against the nightstand; he couldn't sleep anyway so he didn't mind. Beth turned to lie on her stomach then reached down and grabbed Daryl's hand and interlocked her fingers with his. It was weird to Daryl, he just let her do it, he liked it. He liked Beth. She pulled their hands up to rest on the bed right by her face. Daryl could feel her warm breath on his skin. She had her eyes closed and Daryl thought she had fallen back to sleep already, but then she spoke.

"Thank you Daryl…for everything." She said quietly.

"It's nothing." Daryl mumbled. It was so quiet in the cabin you could hear a pin drop.

"No it's somethin…you're somethin." Beth replied softly and with that she fell back to sleep.

**A/N Awe, fluffy feels. Hopefully you enjoyed, the chapters are getting longer, which means were getting to the good stuff.(: I also wanted to give a shoutout to kevkye, DarylDixonsLover, nellies5446, and because you guys always leave the best reviews to me, and they just make my day! Until next time! Xx.**


	5. Too Close

**A/N OMG so I just have to mention the Bethisode it was SO AMAZING. Just had to throw that out there, even though it was a few weeks ago. Emily did such an incredible job in that ep. I really love Emily Kinney so I just had to give appreciation. And I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a green lollipop again tbh…**

**Anyhow…Here's the next chapter sorry for the wait. Enjoy.(:**

About a week and a half had gone by, Daryl's arm had been healing quickly, and Beth would be able to take the stitches out soon. Beth was relieved when Daryl had said that they could look for the others, after their fight at the trailer, she thought he'd want no part in looking for anyone. But Beth felt like she almost owed it to the others to look for them, they had to at least try. I mean they got out, and they were alive, the others could be too. The last week in a half had been spent resting; they hadn't done much but sleep, eat, and relax. Daryl had gone hunting; Beth had even tagged along a few times, but only when it was necessary because they needed food, and Beth was pretty sure Daryl might have gone crazy if he stayed inside for too long. They planned to start searching for the other's the next few days, but Daryl wanted to plan it all out. They had a good thing going at the cabin, and winter was coming up, they couldn't just go all gung ho and trample through the woods again. Not when they had a place like the cabin. He wanted to make the trek into the small town that was about 10 miles away, look around there and get supplies, maybe stay a night or two there looking around the area. If they didn't find anyone they would come back to the cabin again and start from square one. Beth knew it would be smart, with winter coming nights became freezing and they would need a place to stay warm. And truth be told the cabin, had sort of became like a home to Daryl and Beth, they had made themselves comfortable, they had showers when they needed it, comfortable beds, and it was pretty secluded, it was their own little safe haven. Daryl was laying on the bed reading when Beth came downstairs after she woke up.

"Come on." Beth said walking to the dining table.

Daryl shut his book and got up, knowing exactly what Beth meant. It had become a regular thing for them to check his stitches every morning. They had been itching him something fierce so he hoped they were ready to come out.

They both sat at the table, Beth unwrapped the white bandage around it inspecting it.

"It look's good, I think we can take the stitches out now." Beth smiled to him.

"Good. Things been itching like hell." Daryl grumbled.

Beth removed his stitches. "It's gonna leave a scar." Beth said wiping up around the wound with a wet rag.

"Don't bother me none…" Daryl replied. It looked minuscule in comparison to the ones his father gave him.

Beth finished, and they sat and ate. Beth was happy she had finally put on some weight while being at the cabin. She hadn't realized how skinny she had gotten, until she did put a few pounds on. She felt better too, stronger, her clothes fit better and hugged her instead of hanging on her. Daryl looked better too; he looked more built, and happier. Beth had noticed a lot about Daryl. The way he chew's on his thumb when he's nervous, the way his eyes light up when he smiles and how he looks 10 years younger when he does, how meticulous he is when he's cleaning his bow. Thoughts of Daryl swirled in Beth's head almost constantly, It was sort of hard not to when he was always right there. Beth had finally admitted to herself that she had a crush on him, she felt like such a silly high school girl. But she did, she liked Daryl.

"So when do you think we'll go to town?" Beth asked innocently, she didn't want to be too pushy.

Daryl was quiet for a moment. "How bout tomorrow?"

Beth smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Beth was eating a spoonful of peanut butter, when she looked up Daryl was watching her. She swallowed her food and stared back at him.

"What…" She asked becoming insecure from his gaze.

Daryl continued to look and shake his head slightly.

"What?" Beth asked again, why was he staring at her like that?

"Nothin, you just look better. You look good." Daryl instantly regretted his wording as he felt a blush creep up his neck. He looked away and back to his can of peaches.

Beth blushed and stared into her lap. "Oh. Thanks." She couldn't help the smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She then added. "You do to…" Beth said looking up to him again. Daryl looked back and just snorted, and mumbled.

"You do. I'm not just saying it cause you did." Beth said honestly.

The rest of the day was spent getting ready to go into town; it would be a pretty long hike on foot. Beth gathered up some food just in case, and made a list of things they needed, or could use around the cabin. She wanted to see if she could find some shampoo or body wash since they did have a shower, it was a luxury item but if she could find some she would take it. She also needed to look for some more medical supplies just in case; they had used up most of the gauze for Daryl's arm, and he had drank most of the whiskey. They also needed more food; if they wanted to continue to stay at the cabin. Beth had her pack ready for the next day. Daryl had gone to sleep fairly early but Beth tossed and turned thinking about finding the others. Beth hadn't had another nightmare yet, which she was thankful for, she didn't know if it was because of what Daryl had said or not, but it seemed to have helped her when she was awake anyway. She didn't feel as scared, or alone anymore. She fell in and out of sleep all night. Beth woke up to someone touching her arm.

"Beth…hey. Time to get up."

"Mhm-mnm." Beth groaned swatting away the hand on her arm; she felt like she had just gone to bed.

She heard Daryl chuckle. "Mornin to you too sunshine."

She groaned again sitting up trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She looked out the window; it was barely daylight outside.

"Daryl what time is it?"

"I don't know, the world ended member… now c'mon let's get a move on."

Beth pulled herself out of bed mumbling, it was way too early for her, she didn't get much sleep but when she finally had fallen asleep she was out hard. Daryl looked at her smirking.

"What!" She snarled at him.

He let out a snicker, shaking his head. 'She looked so cute when she was mad, with her curly hair everywhere, stumbling out of bed mumbling.' Daryl thought to himself, he had been finding a lot of the things she does cute. _Pull your head out of your ass Dixon._

"Nothin." He replied.

She rolled her eyes and walked to the closet grabbing clothes, then turned to Daryl and flicked her wrist shooing him away. He went back downstairs and waited for her. She came down a few minutes later dressed in a long sleeve, her jeans, and boots, with her hair in a braid.

"You gonna be warm enough girl, it's freezing out there."

Beth looked herself up and down. "Well there are no coats, but I'll be fine." She assured Daryl.

He nodded, and they headed out. Beth followed as Daryl as they trekked through the backwoods of Georgia to the small town that they had scouted out weeks ago. Daryl had been right, it was absolutely freezing outside. Beth couldn't help her teeth from chattering, the sun was still coming up, and it had to only be 30-40 degrees outside.

"I told ya it was cold." Daryl sassed. "I can hear yer chattering from up here."

"Well, I don't really have a choice; I told you I don't have a coat." Beth replied trying to keep up with Daryl, but the cold was making her muscles stiff. He stopped and turned around setting his crossbow against a nearby tree. He took his pack off and started to shed his clothing.

"Wha-What are you doin?" Beth asked as her eyes widened.

"Here." He said as he walked up and handed her his thick flannel he had been wearing.

"Daryl, what about you…"

"M'fine, we won't get far if you go dying from hypothermia on me." He said as he slipped his vest with the angel wings on it, over a black long sleeve he was wearing. 'How well the vest suited him…her guardian angel.' Beth thought to herself.

Beth smiled. "Thank you." She said going up and kissing his cheek gently, he froze under her touch, completely tensed. Beth had to admit it was a very bold move, she knew Daryl didn't like when people touched him. She pulled back and looked at him. His cheeks were flushed from the cold morning air, the dawn of day casting a glow on his dark brown hair turning it a golden brown shade. He looked at her wide eyed, then clenched his jaw, and gave her a tight lipped smile. Beth was even shocked by her bold behavior. It was a very sweet gesture though, coming from Daryl and it made her admire him even more. Beth took off her pack and put his flannel on, it was too big on her, but it was warm and comfy. Daryl watched her for a few moments nervously then turned and kept walking, she followed closely behind.

Daryl figured they had been walking for almost an hour, until they came a crossed three walkers, he took them down with ease. Beth pulled her knife ready to help, but Daryl finished the job before she could. Daryl was beyond shocked when Beth had kissed his cheek earlier. He didn't know why she did it…why she would want to? He hadn't said anything to her after that, it had been complete silence. He only turned around a few times to make sure she was still following closely behind, but never made eye contact with her. Daryl knew he was making a big deal over nothing, but he liked it when she touched him, and that just couldn't happen. 'This was Beth Greene, Hershel's daughter, she's a teenager. It felt so wrong, but so right all at the same time. As if his universe wasn't complicated enough…' Daryl thought to himself. Slightly shaking his head at himself.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked quietly from behind him.

He turned his head making eye contact with her for the first time since then. "Uh m'fine why?" His accent was thick and gravely.

"You just seem distracted…"

"Why don't ya just mind yer own damn business girl." Daryl snapped.

Beth stopped, startled by his sudden change in demeanor, causing Daryl to stop and turn around to look at her. The words had come out harsher than he intended, he didn't mean to snap at her, it was just his defense mechanism, he couldn't exactly say 'I was thinking about you, that's why I was distracted.' Now could he.

Beth pursed her lips before speaking. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She said in a small voice.

Daryl looked to the ground then back to Beth and sighed. "Nah shouldn't have snapped at ya."

Beth let her head drop staring at the ground; she wouldn't look him in the eye. Now he really felt bad, she didn't even do anything wrong she was just asking if he was okay. She was being caring and he had been a complete ass to her. It made him even more upset that he could have that effect on her; she was cowering before him, like if she looked at him he would strike her down. He walked towards her.

"M'sorry Beth, it not you. It's just-"

Beth looked back up to him. "What?" She asked.

Daryl shook his head and shifted uncomfortably.

"Nevermind." With that Daryl stalked off leaving Beth even more confused that she was before.

She sighed and caught up with him. After a few more hours of walking they finally arrived in the town called Dayville. They had only taken down a few more walkers along the way. They walked through the streets of the ghost town. They came a crossed a small drug store, and it was locked. Which was either a good thing, or a bad thing? It could mean that no one had raided the place yet, or it could mean someone is living inside. Daryl looked through the windows trying to see if he could see anything. He nodded to Beth, and she pulled out her knife. Daryl banged on the glass window door with his fist, as they waited for a few moments to see if any walkers came, but none did. Daryl quickly picked the lock, and opened the door, he signaled for Beth to stay behind him. They headed into the small drug store, sweeping the aisles to clear the area.

"Let's make this quick, grab what ya need and let's go." Daryl said quietly while looking around himself.

Beth nodded and pulled her pack off and grabbing her list, the store wasn't trashed but there was quite a bit of inventory gone. She grabbed all the perishables she could find which was only about 4 cans of various fruit and one can of soup. She heard a crash from across the store; she jumped up dropping what she had and ran to see.

"Daryl?" She called out only to come around the corner to find a rack of DVD's knocked over and scattered a crossed the floor, and Daryl standing there red as a tomato. Beth tried to suppress a laugh but she couldn't hold it, she busted out in giggles. She looked at Daryl; he looked so embarrassed it was adorable! She continued to giggle as Daryl got even redder.

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Damned thing, I just bumped into it and the whole thing came down." Beth couldn't help the huge grin on her face.

"Yeah real funny Greene, keep on laughing…" Daryl said as he fiddled with the strap of his crossbow and Beth continued to snicker.

"M'sorry, it's just when were out in the woods you're so silent and graceful, then you take one step into a grocery store and it implodes…" She giggled again.

He snorted and shook his head still blushing. "Whatever, ya get what ya need?"

"Uh yeah I was just gonna check one more aisle, then I'll be done." Beth replied.

Beth went across the store to the last aisle and was bent down grabbing some shampoo she had found, it smelled really good too, like strawberries. She heard Daryl behind her and still wanted to tease him.

"Hey you want some too?" She asked smiling a toothy grin to turn and show him the bottle of shampoo. But her face dropped, as well as her heart, it wasn't Daryl. The walker came at her gnashing its diseased and rotting teeth. She was crouched down and tried to stand, but the walker was already too close. Beth was half way up trying to grab her knife, but the walker tumbled on top of her.

"Daryl! Daryl!" Beth shrieked as she fought to keep the walker off of her.

"Daryl!" Beth screamed out again.

'Oh no, this is it. I'm dead.' Beth thought to herself as the tears started to stream down her face. Then an arrow came flying through the walker's skull and very close to her own as she laid there with the lifeless corpse on her. She pushed the body off of her and looked up to see Daryl standing there white as a ghost, a completely opposite color from the last time she had seen him. He ran to her side checking her up and down.

"Did it get ya!? Beth did it bite ya?"

Beth couldn't find words; her stomach was in her throat. She sat up and turned over emptying the contents of her stomach until there wasn't' anything left. Daryl put his hand on the small of her back.

"Yer okay…yer okay now." Daryl soothed.

Beth was now coughing, and trying to flee Daryl away. She didn't want him to see her like this, but he stayed anyway. He pulled her to her feet, and kept his hand on her back to make sure she was steady. Beth felt light headed, how could she have been so stupid. She should have paid more attention that was way too close. She was one second away from death; if not for Daryl she would be dead.

"M'sorry, I should have been more careful. I'm so stupid; I thought it was you behind me."

"Beth yer not stupid. But ya do need ta be more careful, ya scared the shit outta me." Daryl admitted quietly. They gave each other a long thoughtful stare, before Beth felt that familiar flutter in her stomach she had been getting whenever he looked her in the eyes lately so she pulled away grabbed her stuff.

"Let's get out of here." She said making a face looking to the dead walker on the ground, and her vomit.

Daryl nodded and led the way out of the store into the street.

"Oh…and Daryl."

Daryl looked to her.

"Thank you." Beth gave him a sad smile. He was always there to save her, he always had her back. He gave a small nod and then looked around the streets of the small town.

There were six walkers at the end of the road, and they hadn't spotted Beth and Daryl yet. If they were quiet they'd never know they were even there. Daryl motioned to keep moving. They walked for a few minutes before coming upon a few houses, most of them large two stories. Beth followed Daryl as they checked the first house they came a crossed, Daryl banged on the window again and three walkers came barreling towards the window. Day opened the front door as him and Beth stepped off the porch waiting to kill them. Daryl sent arrows through two of them, as Beth used her knife to take the last one down. They searched the house and didn't find much. They checked some of the other houses trying to find anything they could use, but they didn't have much luck. Beth tried not to look bummed after the day they had, there was no sign of the others anywhere, but the important thing was that Daryl and her were okay…She had been too close to death, but they were alive. That's all she could really ask for. They had been walking and searching all day and they were both getting worn out. They decided to just stay the night in the last house they cleared. Daryl reinforced the doors and locked the place up while Beth opened a can of soup. Daryl and she had agreed to just share, since they hadn't found much to eat. Beth managed to find a plastic spoon and two forks in one of the drawers, whoever had lived here before had packed up everything even there silverware. They would just have to share the spoon because a fork wasn't going to work for soup. She sat down in the living room on an old dusty couch, it was actually pretty comfortable. Daryl came in a few moments later and sat down next to her.

"Here." Beth said as she passed him the can of soup.

"Nah you eat." He said pulling some of his bolts out and wiping the dried walker blood off with a rag.

"Daryl, you have to eat." Beth said sternly.

He looked at her for a moment before going back to his task. Beth sighed and let her shoulders drop.

She sat the can of soup on the floor next to the couch, and crossed her arms looking at Daryl. He eventually looked back to her with an annoyed expression.

"I'm not eating if you don't." Beth said blatantly.

Daryl clenched his jaw. "Beth…" He said in a warning tone.

She cocked her head at him, giving him a knowing look. Beth knew that he would cave. He would eat; she would make sure of it.

He shot her another glare then grabbed the can of soup and took a bite. Beth gave him a large smile happy with herself for winning the fight. He passed her the can and she took a bite. It wasn't that great, it was cold, and left a metallic after taste in your mouth, but it would keep them going. They passed the can back and forth until it was gone.

"I was thinking tomorrow, we look for a car and also see if we can siphon some gas ta take back with us for the generators…" Daryl suggested to Beth.

Beth had been writing in her journal, she looked up to him and nodded with a small smile. "Okay."

Daryl continued to look at her and eventually nodded. He wasn't use to making all the decisions and just having someone agree with him. But Beth always agreed with him…she trusted him. That meant a lot to Daryl, Beth put all of her trust in him, and never questioned him no matter what. It was weird to him, but it felt good. He continued to watch her write in her journal.

"What do ya write in there all tha time?" Daryl's asked. He wasn't one to pry, but he was genuinely curious.

Beth looked back up looking surprised he had asked. "Uh…I don't know. I sort of writing about everything, or the stuff that's going on. Sort of whatever I want… I write songs too." Beth shrugged shyly.

"Oh." Daryl replied nodding thoughtfully.

"Well I found this today… figured ya might want it." Daryl said as he pulled journal out of his pack. Beth's eyes widened as a smile grew on her face.

"Here." He said handing it to her.

"Oh my gosh Daryl! Thank you! I'm almost out of room in this one." She squealed and leaned a crossed the couch and wrapping her arms around his torso. He froze not knowing what to do, he was still all very new to the whole touching thing still. He usually hated it when people touched him, but when Beth did it he didn't mind. He just grunted acknowledging her thank you.

She pulled back and looked at him thoughtfully.

"What?" Daryl asked insecurely.

"It was sweet of you." She blushed and looked into her lap pretending to inspect the new journal.

Daryl wanted to believe that he did it just because, but he didn't. He _wanted_ to do it for Beth_. _He wouldn't have done anything like that for anyone else. He knew she always carried around her journal, like it was a lifeline for her. He had always looked at Beth like she was a dumb teenager, that wasted her time on decorating her cell at the prison and stuff like singing…but Daryl realized it wasn't dumb. It was a beautiful thing that Beth still found the good left in life, despite all of the horrible and ugly things that had happened. Beth was beautiful, and not just in her looks because…she was Daryl had to admit. She was drop dead gorgeous. But she had beautiful soul as well. Daryl had never thought that about someone before, but then again Beth made him feel _a whole lot of things_ he'd never felt before.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beth had fallen asleep writing, she was leaned against the couch and her journal was still open in her lap, Daryl couldn't sleep he never felt safe in a neighborhood like this, walkers weren't the only threat out there. And just like Beth and him, people scavenged areas like this. He'd be fine if he stayed up, he'd let Beth sleep. Her head was all kinked, the couch was small and she kept kicking him trying to move around, he carefully grabbed her pen and journal so he could move her, when he caught his name on the piece of paper. Daryl's heart skipped a beat, she wrote about him… He looked back and forth between Beth and the open journal in his hand. He shouldn't… he knew he shouldn't. He couldn't read it; that was a total invasion of privacy. _Don't do it Dixon…don't be an asshole. She'd flip if you looked. Fuck it. _Daryl looked at Beth again to be sure she was asleep. He had to know what she said about him.

_We went into town today, to look for the others.  
>I mean it's a possibility that Maggie's out there somewhere.<br>Daryl saved me today. Again. I don't know what's going on  
>between us. Like sometimes he's really nice to me, like maybe he even<br>likes me back, but then there's other times when he acts like he hates me.  
>I don't even know what I do to make him mad…I try to do everything right.<br>Today just wasn't a good day, we barely found any food, and absolutely no trace  
>of the rest of the group. I'm glad that Daryl's with me though, even if the others are<br>gone, at least I have him. Even if he does act like an ass sometimes…he still a good person.  
>He gave me his flannel today, because I was cold, and I kissed him. Well on the cheek…<br>But you should have seen his face; he looked so cute, like a deer in the headlights.  
>Oh then he knocked down a rack in the store…yeah right before I almost became walker food…but he was so embarrassed it was adorable. I wonder if he knows I like him…sometimes he looks at me like<br>he does but like I said other times he acts like he just wants to get rid of me…why do men have  
>to be so confusing. They say girls are confusing…well they're worse.<br>Maybe tomorrow we'll have more luck, I mean ma_

That's where it left off, she had fallen asleep.

Daryl swore his heart stopped beating. '_What the hell? Cute, Adorable, Beth likes me?' _Daryl couldn't wrap his mind around what he had just read; he closed the journal and set it on the floor quickly, like it had burned him. 'What the hell am I gonna do…I mean Beth and I have become closer I'll admit but, she can't like me. This can never happen, I mean I'm older and she's _Beth, and I'm me.' _His brain screamed at him, but behind the scream was a whisper telling Daryl that he felt the same way that this _was_ right. That his feelings for Beth for more than friendly, and that she felt the same way. The voices in his head were interrupted by a loud bang, then another.

Gunshots…

**A/N Hope you enjoyed! So naughty Daryl…he looked in Beth's journal. Tisk Tisk, but he discovered her feelings for him. Ooooo.(; And a cliffhanger, sorry guys. Until next time lovies.**

**P.s Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows! Xx.**


	6. Lay with Me

**A/N Just a warning that this chapter had some mature content, but I feel would be a very real aspect in an apocalyptic world which is why I wanted to explore it. Also I have some OC's in this chapter, just wanted to say that I did base them off the idea of Joe's group in season 4, but it is not exact, I just went off the idea. **

**Thanks for all your support enjoy!**

Beth woke instantly, panicking. She wasn't quite sure what the noise had been but it was loud, and woke her up. Daryl stood quickly blowing out the candles that were lighting the room and went to the boarded window. He peeked through the cracks trying to see anything, but it was too dark. Beth still had no idea what was going on.

"Daryl what was that?" Beth asked in a hushed tone.

"Gunshots… I can't see shit though; grab your stuff get ready to get ready to go." Daryl said watching outside still.

"What if it's the others?" Beth said slightly hopeful.

"What if it's not…" Daryl said questionably, the kind of people out there these days worried him more than the walkers.

Beth sighed and nodded even though he probably couldn't see her; the only light was the faint moonlight coming in through the cracks of the boarded windows. She started gathering everything, including her journal which was on the floor? She hadn't remembered putting it there, but she didn't have time to worry about it.

"What do we do, we can't just go running off in the dark? Not to mention all of the walkers that heard those shots…" Beth said trying not to freak out.

"Ya yer right, the streets will be crawlin with 'em." Daryl said loading his crossbow.

Beth sighed again and stood up and walked over to one of the windows trying to look out.

"Hey you stay close you hear, not out of my sight…" Daryl said sternly.

Beth nodded and pulled the backpack on and walked over by Daryl. At that moment there was rattling coming from the back of the house…_The back door, it was the door handle rattling._ They both shot their heads back to look, but you couldn't see anything it was useless. Beth started breathing heavily.

"C'mon!" Daryl whispered loudly while grabbing Beth's hand and dragging her to a window that hadn't been boarded up. He quickly pried it open and jumped out. The window was at least five and a half feet off the ground. It was sort of a jump but he did it with ease. He immediately got his weapon ready for fire, scanning the area. Beth put one leg out the window straddling it trying to skillfully get out without hurting herself. When out of now where a gruff voice called out.

"Hey! Hey you get back here!" The gruff voice barked.

Instant panic set in as Beth felt adrenaline start to rush through her veins; a large hand grabbed her forearm trying to yank her back inside.

"Beth!" Daryl called out looking up to Beth in the window seeing her struggle.

"No!" Beth yelled trying to fight the person trying to nab her. Beth bent her head down and bit the hand that was on her arm until she tasted blood.

"Stupid bitch!" The gruff voice hissed, letting go of Beth.

Beth tumbled out of the window trying to still land on her feet, she landed wrong on her foot, her ankle rolled and felt like it ripped in half as she fell to her knees, all while trying to brace herself with her hands. Beth cried out at the pain of her ankle.

"Shit, Beth!" Daryl said trying to help her to her feet; he pulled Beth to her feet. She went to run, but instantly collapsed, she messed up her ankle too bad. She tried to get back up, the adrenaline keeping her from paying too much attention to the pain, but not enough to actually get her to keep going.

"Fuck!" Daryl shot a walker before grabbing Beth and swinging her over his shoulder, holding on to her legs. Daryl grabbed the arrow from the walker's skull and started jogging all while still carrying Beth. He rounded the corner to the house trying to make it in the direction of the woods, but a man stood before him. He was about Daryl's size maybe a little taller; he had shaggy black hair, and had a wicked smile on his face, which Daryl didn't like. He aimed a pistol at them.

"Put the girl down." He said.

Daryl slowly put Beth down doing his best to still support her, so she didn't collapse. He instantly aimed his crossbow at him.

"The bow too."

Daryl stood his ground no way in hell, was he putting it down. The man just chuckled.

"Hey Tommy, look what I found here imma guessing this is the bitch that ya said bit ya!?" He called out.

Another man came from around the corner, he had reddish hair and facial hair, he looked to be just a little bit older than Beth, but the look he had on his face gave them both the creeps. He had a rifle in his hand, he started chuckling too.

_Shit._ Daryl thought to himself. He felt Beth clutch on to his side, she was shaking. He could hear her breathing heavily. Beth felt as though her heart was going to pound out of her chest.

"Well I'll be damned, you got em." The red head said.

Daryl heard someone coming up behind them, but they were outnumbered and Beth was injured, there was nothing they could do.

"Daryl…" Beth said quietly the fear in her voice apparent. She saw another man come up behind them with a gun.

"Why don't you put down the crossbow…" The voice said from behind them.

Daryl clenched his jaw, as he sat down his cross bow slowly.

"This yer bitch?" The red head asked as he came closer eyeing Beth, with a sick smile.

Daryl grasped on to Beth tighter.

"Ya see, she needs to be taught some manners. Damn girl bit me, but I'm sure you can make it up to me right sweetheart?" He said coming even closer trying to touch Beth.

"Back the hell off!" Daryl growled pushing him away.

The man behind them grabbed Daryl pulling him from Beth, he tried to fight him off but he pushed him to the ground and tied his hand behind his back. The red headed guy grabbed Beth, and tied her hands in front of her, she tried squirming free, but even if she could she couldn't run.

"Let go of her you son of a bitch!" Daryl spat still trying to break free.

He watched as Beth had a look of pure terror on her face, she was a white as a ghost.

"Come on let's get inside before every flesh eater in the area comes down on us." The man with the dark hair said scanning the area, before having his guys drag Beth and Daryl back inside the house they had just escaped from. They pulled them inside and threw them on the couch.

"Sorry about being so forceful, but ya see goldie locks bit my friend here. Now we can't just let something like that go unpunished now can we?" The man with the long dark hair said.

"Now I'm Robert, ginger spice over there is Tommy, and that one pointing the gun at you is Ricardo. Now we'll take care of business in a while, right now we gotta lock this place up so the flesh eaters don't try to mow down on us. Tommy you take over for Ricardo."

The red head came over and crouched down by Beth.

"Now sorry sweetheart but imma have to search you for any weapons, Ricardo already patted your boy down but we haven't checked you yet." He said grinning, while putting his hands on her thighs. Beth squirmed under his touch and whimpered trying to scoot closer to Daryl.

"Don't touch her you fucker, I'll kill you!" Daryl spat venomously.

"Oh don't worry, I won't get too handsy…yet." Tommy smiled again.

Tommy started running his hands up and down her legs; he found her knife she always stuffed in her boot. He grabbed it and chucked it a crossed the room.

"That's all I had, I swear. Please don't…" Beth shuddered as he continued to run his hands up and down her. He made his way to her sides and started to move under her shirt.

"You fucker! Daryl yelled lunging at him, his hands still tied behind, but he pushed Daryl back on the couch.

He slapped Beth a crossed the face as hard as he could, she let out a small cry. Blood trickled out of the corner of her lip, as well as tears that broke free from her eyes.

"You try anything again, if you disobey, she gets it! You got that fool!" Tommy barked at Daryl.

Daryl clenched his jaw. He looked at Beth then back to Tommy. Robert and Ricardo came back inside, Tommy went over and started talking with them in the dining room that was connected to the living room, that way they could still see Daryl and Beth.

"Hey Beth, M'sorry are ya okay?" Daryl asked quietly trying to scoot closer.

Beth looked up to Daryl her eyes red. She didn't say anything. _Of course she wasn't okay, she was terrified, and she just got smacked around by some creep that was feeling her up._ Daryl sighed. _What the hell was he gonna do…_ He already had a pretty good idea of what they could do to Beth, he couldn't let that happen. He had to figure something out, but right now things were looking pretty shitty. Robert came back in to the living room.

"Now look Tommy wants- what's your name Hun?" He asked

Beth avoided eye contact with everyone she just stared at her lap, trying not to break down.

Tommy walked up and pulled Daryl to his feet and punched him in the jaw, before throwing him back into the couch.

"No!" Beth shrieked. Daryl spit blood onto the ground breathing heavily.

"Oh so that's what gets the bitch to cooperate… You were right Rob they are love birds." Tommy laughed.

"Your name?" Robert asked again.

"Beth…" She replied in a small voice.

"Beth what a pretty name, almost as pretty as you…You are a cute little thing. Ya know if Tommy didn't want his way with ya, I would have." Robert said chuckling.

"Now ya see, this is nothing personal, you bit my guy for no reason and now you have to make it up to him. Just business sweetheart." He finished.

"He tried to grab me, I didn't do anything wrong! I was defending myself, please just let us go!" Beth yelled, while tears streamed out of her eyes. She knew what was about to happen, and she was helpless. No one could save her from it.

Tommy came over and grabbed Beth, she fought to get away screaming and flailing herself. He had to practically drag her; he headed for one of the downstairs bedrooms.

"Beth! No you motherfucker- I swear-"Daryl yelled as he tried to go after her, but Ricardo grabbed him and held him back. Daryl kneed him in the gut as hard as he could. Ricardo threw him a crossed the room Daryl landed on the ground hard. He could hear Beth screaming and crying. It broke his heart, he couldn't help her. Daryl spotted something on the floor…Beth's knife. That dumb fucker Tommy never picked it up earlier. Ricardo and Robert had made their way into the dining room laughing about something. What the hell was wrong with these people? Daryl thought to himself, how fucked up could they be? Daryl did his best to inconspicuously roll over to where the knife was. He managed to get ahold of it; he began working quickly to cut the cord that tied his hands together.

Beth still fought Tommy off; he had brought her into the bedroom and threw her on the bed. She did everything she could, she bit, scratched, kicked. Anything and everything to keep him from what he was about to do.

"You dumb bitch, stop!" Tommy grabbed her by the throat. He kissed her roughly. Beth tried to knee him in the groin.

"I said stop! If you don't I'll kill your precious little boyfriend out there, is that what you want?" He spat into her face.

"No." Beth whimpered out, she didn't want them to hurt Daryl. Tommy put his hands under her shirt feeling her up again. Beth squirmed as the tears continued to pour out. She tried to close her eyes and go to a different place. Beth was a virgin; she couldn't believe that this was how it was going to happen. She cried and begged him not to, but it didn't faze him. He continued to pull her shirt up and starting kissing down her stomach.

"You sure are a cute little thing, aint ya sweetheart. Don't worry you'll like it. I can make you feel way better than that redneck hick out there…" Tommy said wickedly.

The sound of his voice made Beth sick to her stomach. Tommy pushed up her shirt enough to expose her bra; he took his nice and cut her bra off of her. Beth's sobs wracked her whole body. He roughly grabbed one of her breast and kneaded it; he kissed Beth on the mouth again. He moved his hands down to her pant line and unbuttoned her jeans and yanked them and her boots off forcefully. She was left in her underwear and her shirt pushed up around her chest. It was going to happen; there was nothing she could do. Tommy was on her knees over Beth as he began to undo his belt and jeans. All of a sudden Daryl burst through the door; his hands and shirt were covered in blood. He grabbed Tommy off of Beth and slugged him in the face, Tommy flew back against the wall, Daryl hit him again and again until his face was covered in blood. Beth sat up and pulled her shirt down over her, trying to cover herself. Tommy was on the ground, whether he was dead or unconscious she didn't know, Daryl stood above him huffing trying to calm himself down. Daryl looked to Beth worriedly. Beth let her head drop and she cried, she just cried. She couldn't even look at Daryl, she was humiliated.

"Beth…"

Beth brought her gaze up to Daryl's for a split second. He slowly made his way over to her and gentle cut her hands loose. Beth rubbed her wrists; she grabbed her pants from the floor and slid them on. Daryl faced the other direction while she did so. Beth still sat on the bed; her ankle was still all screwed up, but she pulled her boots on quickly ignoring it. She didn't even care, she was just embarrassed. It was stupid to feel embarrassed, but Daryl could obviously see what was about to go down.

Daryl came and sat on the bed next to, but not too close. After something like that, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. But to Daryl's surprise Beth scooted over and threw herself against him, her body began to wrack with sobs again. He hesitantly placed his arm around her. She grabbed his shirt and pulled her face into his chest, her cries being muffled. Daryl placed a hand behind her head, holding her close. Beth's breath came out in shuddered cries; she was having a hard time catching her breath.

"Beth, yer safe now." Daryl tried to get her to calm down.

"He was going to-"Beth whimpered out.

"But he didn't… it's over okay?"

Beth nodded into his chest, he wrapped both his arms around her and held her close. He couldn't imagine how scared she was, he was going to do everything and anything to try and make her feel safe. He looked to Tommy's body on the floor.

"Beth I gotta take care of somethin..." Daryl said slowly pulling himself away from her, but her grasp on him tightened.

"Please don't leave me alone!" She cried.

Daryl bent down and got eye level with her.

"I'm not going to leave you; I gotta take care of him before he turns though…" He said gesturing to Tommy's lifeless body.

"Are they all dead?" Beth asked. Her eyes were blood shot; her face was puffy from crying and she had dried blood at the corner of her mouth, and was still shaking.

"You don't worry about that, no one's gonna hurt ya again Beth. Promise." Daryl replied.

"I'll take care of them and I'll be right back." Daryl assured her.

Daryl grabbed Tommy's body and dragged it out of the room before shoving his knife through his skull; he did the same with Ricardo, and Roberts. After Daryl had cut himself free, he managed to slit Ricardo's throat and then stab Robert. They weren't excepting it, so it was easy. Daryl didn't care what he had to do, to help Beth. It didn't bother him, they were sick people. It had to be done. He couldn't burn the body's it would attract too much attention. Daryl dragged them out on the edge of the house, near the trees. The walkers would most likely find them, but in Daryl's mind that's what they deserved. Tommy was going to rape Beth, and the others were gonna let him. God knows what other things that they had done… Daryl didn't feel the least bit of remorse. He cleaned all the blood off of his hands and arms. Daryl came back inside to find Beth sitting in the same exact spot; she jumped when he came in.

"Just me…" Daryl said quietly.

Beth just stared at the blood on the floor where Tommy had laid.

"C'mon you can sleep in an upstairs room, ya need some rest."

Beth nodded and tried to keep the weight off her injured ankle while she stood up. Daryl helped support her.

"You think you can make it up stairs?" Daryl asked.

Beth nodded and tried moving but winced in pain. Before she even knew what Daryl was doing he scooped her up bridal style, one hand under her legs and the other around her waist. She looked at him in shock, and then wrapped her arms around his neck to help keep herself up. He carried her up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. Daryl was out of breath by the time he sat her on the bed.

"Damn yer heavier than you look…" Daryl exaggerated his exhaustion and let out a huge sigh. He was half serious.

Beth gave him a small smile, he smiled back at her. He was trying to make her feel better, and she admired that .He had to be just as wiped out as she was, but he was still trying to make her smile. After the hell they had been through tonight, they could both use a little happiness.

"Tomorrow I'll find ya something ta wrap yer ankle with."

Beth nodded. "Could you help me get my boot off?" She asked trying to do it herself but was only hurting herself.

"It feels really swollen…" She continued.

Beth's legs hung off the side of the bed; he crouched down and gingerly pulled her boot off, examining her ankle.

"It don't look broken…probably sprained it real bad or tore something. Not much we could do besides stay off of it, and wrap it." Daryl said.

Beth sighed. "Sorry."

Daryl looked up at her with a puzzled look. "Fer what?"

"I'm slowing us down, we could have gotten away if I hadn't hurt myself…I can't even jump out of a window without screwing everything up." Beth let her head drop, she was angry with herself.

'Stop…Aint none of this yer fault." Daryl gave her a stern look. He pulled her other boot off for her.

Beth watched as Daryl removed her other shoe then got up and sat on the bed. He felt her eyes following him so he looked back.

"What?" He asked.

"Are you gonna stay in here with me…" Beth asked quietly.

Daryl looked to the floor for a moment then back to Beth and nodded slowly.

"Yeah I can." He said.

Beth scooted back and laid on her side. A few moments past as Daryl sat at the end of the bed playing with his hands, while Beth laid unable to even close her eyes thinking about what had happened earlier.

"Daryl…"

"Mhm."

"Will you lay with me…"

A few more moments went by in silence, before Beth felt the mattress dip in next to her. Daryl carefully laid down next to her. Beth turned over to face him, he was lying on his back with a hand behind his head to prop himself up. They looked at each other, Beth watched him carefully, taking in every line and every feature on his face. She curled up, burying her face into his side. She half expected him to pull away but instead he placed his other arm around her. She would probably only get a few hours of sleep before it was daylight, but she would take it. Before Beth let sleep take her, she felt Daryl running his finger up and down her shoulder. Beth popped her eyes open and looked to him. Daryl noticed that she was awake, he stopped touching her arm. He instantly felt his cheeks burn, and looked to the ceiling.

"Don't stop…" Beth said quietly, her blue orbs still watching him.

Daryl's eyes snapped back to meet hers, he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"I like it." Beth murmured before her eyes fluttered closed, letting herself fall into a slumber.

Daryl watched her as her chest fell and rose over and over; he continued to run his fingers over her shoulder. _She liked it._ _He liked it._

_He liked her._

**A/N Hopefully you enjoyed! Please review! I love feedback! Xx.**


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